The Hasselblad Lunar Digital Mirrorless Camera

Hasselblad – the iconic Swedish firm that gave Neil Armstrong the opportunity to use a camera in space and phorograph the surface of the moon (500EL) – has revealed its newest creation that tries to rise up to its legacy, called Lunar.

Lunar is a mirrorless camera firstly introduced at Photokina 2012 and the first entry of this unique Swedish brand on the market. It features a 24.3 megapixel APS-C (23.5 x 25.6 mm) CMOS sensor and E-mount lenses, being the first product of a partnership between Hasselblad and Sony, which has brought up some interesting critics due to the fact that the new camera shares an awful lot of tech with the Sony NEX-7, quite a lot.

Both cameras have the same ISO range of 100-16,000, and 25-point contrast detection autofocus system, share a 2.3 million dot OLED electronic viewfinder and 3-inch tiltable LCD screen with 920k dots on the rear. They also use the Sony TriNavi navigation mode, having a similar layout. The Lunar can even take a Memory Stick PRO Duo alongside an SD card. At least with a Sony NEX-7 core, we know the Lunar will be a capable camera.

As I’ve said, some critics suggest that the Hasselblad Lunar is merely a Sony NEX-7 covered in expensive materials with an different price tag. Hasselblad is keen to stress that the Lunar is more than a superficial rebranding and that it has made a number of changes under the hood too.

This distinctive camera makes use of exclusive materials which will grab peoples attention. There are currently five models in the Lunar collection, which include the use of black leather, brown Tuscan leather, carbon fiber, mahogany and olive wood on the grip. All of the cameras boast titanium knobs, and the on/off and movie buttons feature red jewels. Hasselblad is planning on introducing bespoke options, with users selecting from a choice of materials for the grip and top plate.

As I’ve said, the Hasselblad Lunar has a different price tag. How differemt?! Well, it has a retail price of $6,995 – holy freakin’ batman! For reference, the Sony NEX-7 is currently selling for $1,095 with the 18-55-mm lens. This means you could buy the Sony and the remaining $5,900 could fund a one-of-a-kind vacation to your ideal place, where you could take high quality photos to brag to your friends. So, if you think the mirrorless camera market has been sadly lacking in wood, carbon fiber, and jeweled buttons, you should buy the Lunar. Otherwise, take out a map and start looking for that perfect place..